is the capital

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

Chiba Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama Prefecture to the ...

, Japan. It sits about east of the centre of

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Tokyo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan, and spans the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. The Tokyo Bay region is both the most populous ...

. The city became a government-designated city in 1992. In June 2019, its population was 979,768, with a population density of 3,605 people per km². The city has an area of . Chiba City is one of the Kantō region's primary seaports, and is home to Chiba Port, which handles one of the highest volumes of cargo in Japan. Much of the city is residential, although there are many factories and warehouses along the coast. There are several major urban centres in the city, including

Makuhari is a community in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. It is within Hanamigawa-ku and Mihama-ku. The seaside area of Makuhari was reclaimed from the sea. The district was constructed in a span of 10 years. Steven Poole, author of ''Trigger Hap ...

, a prime waterfront business district in which

Makuhari Messe is a Japanese convention center outside Tokyo, located in the Mihama-ku ward of Chiba City, in the northwest corner of Chiba Prefecture. Designed by Fumihiko Maki, it is accessible by Tokyo's commuter rail system. ''Makuhari'' is the name of ...

is located, and Central Chiba, in which the prefectural government office and the city hall are located. Chiba is famous for the Chiba Urban Monorail, the longest suspended

monorail A monorail (from "mono", meaning "one", and "rail") is a railway in which the track consists of a single rail or a beam. Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurately, ...

in the world. Some popular destinations in the city include: Kasori Shell Midden, the largest

shellmound A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and eco ...

in the world at , Inage Beach, the first artificial beach in Japan which forms part of the longest artificial beach in Japan, and the Chiba City Zoological Park, popular on account of the standing

red panda The red panda (''Ailurus fulgens''), also known as the lesser panda, is a small mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. It has dense reddish-brown fur with a black belly and legs, white-lined ears, a mostly white muzzle ...

Futa Futa may refer to: Geography * Futa Pass between Florence and Bologna *Futa River in Chile * Futa, Ghana, a community in Ghana *Futa Tooro, a region along the Senegal River Acronyms *Federal Unemployment Tax Act (US) *Federal University of Techn ...

Etymology

The name of Chiba in the

Japanese language is spoken natively by about 128 million people, primarily by Japanese people and primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language. Japanese belongs to the Japonic or Japanese- Ryukyuan language family. There have been ma ...

is formed from two ''

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...

'' characters. The first, , means "

thousand 1000 or one thousand is the natural number following 999 and preceding 1001. In most English-speaking countries, it can be written with or without a comma or sometimes a period separating the thousands digit: 1,000. A group of one thousand th ...

" and the second, means "leaves". The name first appears as an ancient ''

kuni no miyatsuko , also read as "kokuzō" or "kunitsuko", were officials in ancient Japan at the time of the Yamato court. Yamato period Kuni no miyatsuko governed small territories (), although the location, names, and borders of the provinces remain unclear. K ...

'', or regional command office, as . The name was adopted by a branch of the

Taira clan The Taira was one of the four most important clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian, Kamakura and Muromachi Periods of Japanese history – the others being the Fujiwara, the Tachibana, and the Minamoto. The clan is divided ...

, which moved to the area in present-day Chiba City in the late

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese ...

. The branch of the Taira adopted the name and became the

Chiba clan The Chiba clan (千葉氏 ''Chiba-shi'') was a Japanese '' gōzoku'' and samurai family descending from the Taira clan. The clan was founded by Chiba Tsunetane, the son of Taira no Tadatsune. The Chiba governed in Shimōsa Province, and the cl ...

, which held strong influence over the area of the prefecture until the

Azuchi–Momoyama period The was the final phase of the in Japanese history from 1568 to 1600. After the outbreak of the Ōnin War in 1467, the power of the Ashikaga Shogunate effectively collapsed, marking the start of the chaotic Sengoku period. In 1568, Oda Nobuna ...

. The name "Chiba" was chosen for Chiba Prefecture at the time its creation in 1873 by the , an early

Meiji-period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

body of prefectural governors that met to decide the structure of local and regional administration in Japan.

History

Early history

The first records related to the city of Chiba record the emigration of

Taira Tsuneshige The Taira was one of the four most important clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian, Kamakura and Muromachi Periods of Japanese history – the others being the Fujiwara, the Tachibana, and the Minamoto. The clan is divid ...

(1083?–1088), a powerful '' bushi'' warlord of the late Heian period, to

Shimōsa Province was a province of Japan in the area modern Chiba Prefecture, and Ibaraki Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Shimōsa''" in . It lies to the north of the Bōsō Peninsula (房総半島), whose name takes its first ''kanji'' from ...

, which historically occupied the north of Chiba Prefecture. Tsuneshige was appointed as ''gunji'' administrator of Sōma District, but was transferred to the same position in Chiba District two years later. Here he proclaimed himself , became a '' kokushi'' governor of the province, and used the area around present-day Chiba City as a power base to rule over Shimōsa Province,

Kazusa Province was a province of Japan in the area of modern Chiba Prefecture. The province was located in the middle of the Bōsō Peninsula, whose name takes its first ''kanji'' from the name of Awa Province and its second from Kazusa and Shimōsa province ...

, as well as establish himself as a military force in the Kantō region. Tsuneshige's son, (1118–1201) was instrumental in aiding

Minamoto no Yoritomo was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1192 until 1199.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako who acted as regent (''shikken'') after his ...

(1147–1199) with the establishment of the

Kamakura shogunate The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Kamakura-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 459. The Kamakura shogunate was established by Minamoto no Y ...

. Tsuneshige built a spacious residence and numerous temples in present-day Chiba City, and in the same period he transferred his power base from

Ōji Castle Oji, Ōji or OJI may refer to: People * Chibuzor Oji (born 1977), stage name Faze (musician), Faze, Nigerian musician and actor * Geoffrey Oji, Nigerian singer and songwriter, winner of the seventh season of ''Project Fame West Africa'' * Megumi Ō ...

to Inohana Castle on

Mount Inohana Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

. The area of present-day Chiba City became ''

jōkamachi The term refers to a type of urban structures in Japan in which the city surrounds a feudal lord's castle. These cities did not necessarily form around castles after the Edo period; some are known as Jin'yamachi, cities that have evolved around J ...

'' , or

castle town A castle town is a settlement built adjacent to or surrounding a castle. Castle towns were common in Medieval Europe. Some examples include small towns like Alnwick and Arundel, which are still dominated by their castles. In Western Europe, a ...

, and prospered under the Chiba clan. The clan's power extended in the region until the

Muromachi period The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by t ...

Medieval period

The Chiba clan's power and influence declined because of wars around the Kantō region during the Nanboku-chō and

s. In the 16th century, instead of the

, the

Hara clan Hara may refer to: Art and entertainment * Hara (band), a Romanian pop-band * ''Hara'' (film), a 2014 Kannada-language drama film * ''Hara'' (sculpture), a 1989 artwork by Deborah Butterfield * Goo Hara (1991-2019), South Korean idol singer ...

, which was one of the servants of

, wielded power in this region. In the

Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...

, the

was forcibly removed by Ashikaga Yoshiaki (足利義明, not to be confused with 足利義昭). Then, Ashikaga Yoshiaki was also removed by the Sakai (酒井 not to be confused with the

Sakai clan The was a Japanese samurai clan that claimed descent from the Nitta branch of the Minamoto clan, who were in turn descendants of Emperor Seiwa. Serata (Nitta) Arichika, a samurai of the 14th century, was the common ancestor of both the Sakai ...

in Mikawa) clan, which was one of the servants of the Satomi (里見) clan. Finally both the

Chiba Chiba may refer to: Places China * (), town in Jianli County, Jingzhou, Hubei Japan * Chiba (city), capital of Chiba Prefecture ** Chiba Station, a train station * Chiba Prefecture, a sub-national jurisdiction in the Greater Tokyo Area on ...

and Sakai clans were annihilated by

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...

Later history

In the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

, the ,　 clan, and the clans governed the area now occupied by the city. A part of the area was also governed directly by the

Tokugawa Bakufu The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedi ...

. The Oyumi clan governed their territory stably. On the other hand, according to the Sakura clan, from the beginning of the

, changed governors frequently, including

Takeda Nobuyoshi is a Japanese family name.1990 Census Name Files

Matsudaira Tadateru was a ''daimyō'' during the Edo period of Japan. He was the sixth son of Tokugawa Ieyasu. He was born in Edo Castle during the year of the dragon (''tatsu''), and as a child his name was Tatsuchiyo (辰千代). His mother was , a concubine of I ...

, , and

Doi Toshikatsu was a top-ranking official in Japan's Tokugawa shogunate during its early decades, and one of the chief advisors to the second Tokugawa shōgun, Hidetada. The adopted son of Doi Toshimasa, Toshikatsu is generally believed to be the biological ...

. Finally the

Hotta clan The was a Japanese clan that ruled the Sakura Domain in Shimosa Province in the late Edo period. Jindai-ji in the present-day city of Sakura was the clan's bodaiji A in Japanese Buddhism is a temple which, generation after generation, ta ...

stabilized the governance of their territory. Chiba prospered in this period as a post-town of the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

Modern history

After the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

in 1868 and the advent of the railroad in Japan, Chiba became the political, economic, and cultural capital of Chiba Prefecture. The town of Chiba was established within Chiba District with the creation of the municipalities system on April 1, 1889. Chiba City formed on January 1, 1921. Numerous small villages and towns were merged into the previous , a process that continued until 1944. Large-scale land reclamation added to the area of the city throughout the 20th century. The city was a major center of military production leading up to World War II, and as such, was a target of aerial bombing by the United States. The city was almost completely destroyed by the end of the war. Post-war industrialization led to the city becoming a major part of the

Keiyō Industrial Zone , also known as the Keiyō Industrial Region, the Keiyō Industrial Area, or the Keiyō Industrial Belt, is an industrial zone on the northeastern coast of Tokyo Bay that crosses 8 cities in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. The zone spans from the wester ...

. Chiba became a Designated City of Japan on April 1, 1992.

Demographics

As of February 2016, the city had an estimated population of 972,861 and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of 3,580 persons per km². The total area of the city is . There were 19,135 registered foreign residents in the city as of March 31, 2007, making up for about 2% of the total population. It is the 14th most populated city in Japan.

Politics and government

Chiba was governed by

Keiichi Tsuruoka is the former mayor of Chiba, Chiba is the capital city of Chiba Prefecture, Japan. It sits about east of the centre of Tokyo on Tokyo Bay. The city became a government-designated city in 1992. In June 2019, its population was 979,768, with a ...

, an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

(elected with support of LDP and

Kōmeitō , formerly New Komeito and abbreviated NKP, is a conservative political party in Japan founded by lay members of the Buddhist Japanese new religious movement Soka Gakkai in 1964. Since 2012, it has served in government as the junior coalit ...

), until May 1, 2009. He was arrested in April 2009 during a corruption investigation by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police. He was succeeded by

Toshihito Kumagai Toshihito is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Toshihito can be written using different combinations of kanji characters. Some examples: *敏仁, "agile, humanity" *敏人, "agile, person" *俊仁, "talented, humanity" *俊人, ...

of the DPJ, who won election in June 2009. The city assembly has 54 elected members.

Wards

Chiba has six wards (''ku''): * Chūō-ku – administrative center *

Hanamigawa-ku is one of the six wards of the city of Chiba in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. As of April 2012, the ward has an estimated population of 179,770 and a population density of 5,250 persons per km². The total area is 34.24 km². Geography Hanam ...

Inage-ku is one of the six wards of the city of Chiba in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. As of April 2012, the ward had an estimated population of 156,860 and a population density of 7,380 persons per km2. The total area was . Geography Inage Ward is located ...

* Midori-ku * Mihama-ku *

Wakaba-ku is one of the six wards of the city of Chiba in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. As of April 2012, the ward had an estimated population of 151,593 and a population density of 1,800 persons per km². The total area was 84.21 km², making it the l ...

Climate

Chiba has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Cfa'') with hot summers and cool to mild winters. Precipitation is significant throughout the year, but is somewhat lower in winter.

Culture

One of the many points of interest is the

Experimental Station for Landscape Plants The , also called the Kemigawa Arboretum, is a research and plant-breeding arboretum operated by the University of Tokyo Faculty of Agriculture, and located at Hata-machi 1051, Hanamigawa-ku, Chiba, Chiba, Japan. The arboretum was established in ...

Facilities

* Chiba Zoo *

Park

Chiba Park Chiba may refer to: Places China * (), town in Jianli County, Jingzhou, Hubei Japan * Chiba (city), capital of Chiba Prefecture ** Chiba Station, a train station * Chiba Prefecture, a sub-national jurisdiction in the Greater Tokyo Area on ...

Sports

Chiba plays host to the annual

International Chiba Ekiden The International Chiba Ekiden was an annual team road running competition held in Chiba, Japan in late November. The marathon relay race, or ekiden as it is known in Japan, is one of the prominent annual races of its kind. The competition is spl ...

and the Chiba International Cross Country takes place just outside the city. Chiba Velodrome is located within the city. It also hosts the

Bridgestone Open The was a professional golf tournament in Japan, sponsored by Bridgestone. Founded in 1972, it had been an event on the Japan Golf Tour since in inaugural season in 1973. From 1972 to 1984, the title of the event was the Bridgestone Tournament, ...

golf tournament. Chiba is home to several professional sports teams, most notably:

Transportation

Airports

There is no commercial airport within city limits. Narita International Airport and

Tokyo International Airport , officially , and sometimes called as Tokyo Haneda Airport or Haneda International Airport , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Narita International Airport (NRT). It serves as the primary ...

(Haneda) are the closest major airports.

Railway

The Chiba Urban Monorail runs through Chiba City. The major intercity railway stations are

Chiba Station is a railway station in Chiba, Chiba, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and Chiba Urban Monorail. Lines Chiba Station is served by the following lines. JR East * Sobu Main Line ** Chūō-Sōbu Line ** Sobu Line (Rapi ...

, (

Sobu Line Sobu is a village in the Zangilan Rayon of Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundar ...

Sotobō Line The is a railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) adjacent to the Pacific Ocean, on the eastern (i.e., outer) side of the Bōsō Peninsula. It connects Chiba Station in Chiba to Awa-Kamogawa Station in Kamo ...

, Uchibo Line,

Sōbu Main Line The is a Japanese railway line operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan. It connects Tokyo with the east coast of Chiba Prefecture, passing through the cities of Funabashi, Chiba, and Chōshi. Its name derives from the ol ...

, Narita Line, transfer for Chiba Urban Monorail),

Keisei Chiba Station is a railway station in Chūō-ku, Chiba, Japan, operated by the Keisei Electric Railway. Lines Keisei Chiba Station is served by the Keisei Chiba Line, and is 12.3 km from the terminus of the line at Keisei-Tsudanuma Station. It is also ...

(

Keisei Chiba Line The is a railway line in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Keisei Electric Railway. It branches from the Keisei Main Line at Keisei Tsudanuma Station is a junction passenger railway station in the city of N ...

), and

Soga Station is a junction railway station located in Chūō-ku, Chiba, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It is also freight depot for the Japan Freight Railway Company (JR Freight) and the all-freight Keiy� ...

, (

Keiyō Line The is a railway line connecting Tokyo and Chiba in Japan, paralleling the edge of Tokyo Bay. It is operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The line forms part of what JR East refers to as the around Tokyo, consisting of the K ...

, Uchibo Line) all in Chūō-ku.

Highway

Higashi-Kantō Expressway The (lit. East Kantō Expressway) is a national expressway in Japan. It is owned and operated by East Nippon Expressway Company. Overview Officially the expressway is referred to as the Higashi-Kantō Expressway Mito Route. The expresswa ...

to Tokyo, Narita and Kashima * Tateyama Expressway to

Kisarazu is a Cities of Japan, city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 136,023 in 63,431 households and a population density of 980 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Kisarazu is locat ...

* Keiyō Road * Chiba-Tōgane Road (

Japan National Route 126 National Route 126 is a national highway of Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Jap ...

Japan National Route 14 is a national highway connecting Tokyo and Chiba in Japan. Route data *Length: 44.1 km (27.4 mi) *Origin: Nihonbashi, Chūō, Tokyo (originates at junction with Route 1, Route 4, Route 6, Route 15, Route 17 and Route 20) *Termin ...

Japan National Route 16 is a national highway in Japan. A beltway around Tokyo, it links the major prefectural capital cities of Yokohama (in Kanagawa Prefecture), Saitama (in Saitama Prefecture), and Chiba (in Chiba Prefecture) as well as Hachiōji (in Tokyo). It ...

Japan National Route 51 thumb National Route 51 is a national highway of Japan connecting Chūō-ku, Chiba and Mito, Ibaraki is the capital city of Ibaraki Prefecture, in the northern Kantō region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 269,330 in 1 ...

Japan National Route 128 National Route 128 is a national highway of Japan connecting Tateyama, Chiba is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 44,865 in 20,558 households and a population density of 410 persons per ...

Japan National Route 357 National Route 357 is a national highway of Japan connecting Chūō-ku, Chiba and Yokosuka, Kanagawa is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 409,478, and a population density of . The total area is . Yoko ...

Education

Colleges and universities

Chiba University is a national university in the city of Chiba, Japan. It offers Doctoral degrees in education as part of a coalition with Tokyo Gakugei University, Saitama University, and Yokohama National University. The university was formed in 1949 from e ...

Chiba Prefectural University of Health Sciences is a public university in Mihama-ku, Chiba, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. It was established in 2009 by integrating Chiba College of Health Science was a Public junior college in Mihama-ku, Chiba, Japan, established in 1981. It was merged into Ch ...

Kanda University of International Studies or KUIS is a private university located in Makuhari, Mihama-ku, Chiba, Japan. The university was founded in 1987 as an extension of Kanda Institute of Foreign Languages in Tokyo. KUIS is a research university specializing in learner autonomy. ...

Tokyo Dental College is a private university in the city of Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1890, and it was chartered as a university in 1946. It is the only institution specializing exclusively in the teaching of dentistry in ...

Shukutoku University is a private university in Chūō-ku, Chiba, Japan, established in 1965. Ryoshin Hasegawa was the university's first president. External links

* Educational institutions established in 1965 Private universities and colleges in Japan Un ...

Keiai University is a private university in the city of Inage-ku, Chiba, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, established in 1966. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1921. The university has attached junior college, high schools and kindergarten Kindergarten ...

Chiba Keizai University is a private university in Inage-ku, Chiba, Japan. The school has an adjacent junior college A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training d ...

* Tokyo University of Information Sciences *

The Open University of Japan is a distance learning university which has students from all over Japan; it accepted its first students in 1985. History Although founded by the national government initiative with a single-issue law and heavily subsidized by the government, ...

Uekusa University is a private university in the city of Chiba, Chiba Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefectur ...

Teikyo Heisei University is a private university in Toshima, Tokyo is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the eight central wards of the Tokyo Metropolitan area. Located in the northern area of Tokyo, Toshima is bordered by the wards of Nerima, Itabashi, an ...

(Chiba campus) * Chiba Meitoku College *

Japan Christian Junior College was a private junior college in Chiba, Chiba, Japan, established in 1951. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1946. The present name was adopted in 1958. It was founded in 1946 as the Japan Agriculture and Bible College by missionaries ...

High schools

Chiba has 20 public high schools operated by the

Chiba Prefectural Board of Education Chiba Prefectural Board of Education is a department of the Chiba Prefecture in Japan. The board supervises elementary and middle schools operated by other school districts and directly operates public high schools. Schools directly operated by ...

and two public high schools operated by the Chiba City Board of Education, including Inage Senior High School. There are also nine private high schools, including the

Makuhari Junior and Senior High School is a Japanese private secondary school in the Makuhari area,School History
"
Chiba Korean Primary and Junior High School Chiba Korean Primary and Junior High School (千葉朝鮮初中級学校 ''Chiba Chōsen Shochūkyūgakkō'', ko, 치바 조선 초중급학교) is a Chōsen gakkō, North Korea-aligned Korean international school in Hanamigawa-ku, Chiba, Hanamiga ...

Hospitals and clinics

* Chiba Kaihin Hospital (Mihama-ku) * Chiba University Hospital (Chuo-ku) * Kashiwado Hospital (Chuo-ku) * Tokyo Dental College Chiba Hospital (Mihama-ku) * Koizumi Clinic (Hanamigawa-ku) * Mizuno Clinic (Hanamigawa-ku) * Hirayama Hospital (Hanamigawa-ku)

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Chiba is twinned with: * North Vancouver, Canada (1970) *

Asunción Asunción (, , , Guarani: Paraguay) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of ...

, Paraguay (1970) *

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, United States (1972) *

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 2,960,048 people. It was fou ...

, Philippines (1972) *

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, United States (1986) *

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

, Germany (2019)

Friendship cities

Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popu ...

, China (1986) *

Montreux Montreux (, , ; frp, Montrolx) is a Swiss municipality and town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps. It belongs to the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, and has a population of approxima ...

, Switzerland (1996) * Wujiang (Suzhou), China (1996)

Notable people

Sawa Ishige is a Japanese voice actress. Filmography Anime 1999 *Poppu Harukaze in Ojamajo Doremi (Magical Doremi) *Takako Takakura in Magic User's Club 2000 *Paiway Underberg in Vandread *Chiyo in InuYasha *Satoko Takanashi in Gate Keepers 2001 *Norma ...

, born in

Shizuoka Shizuoka can refer to: * Shizuoka Prefecture, a Japanese prefecture * Shizuoka (city), the capital city of Shizuoka Prefecture * Shizuoka Airport * Shizuoka Domain, the name from 1868 to 1871 for Sunpu Domain, a predecessor of Shizuoka Prefecture ...

but moved to Chiba *

Ryuta Kawashima is a Japanese neuroscientist known for his appearances in the '' Brain Age'' series of video games for the Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Switch.

, born in Chiba in 1959 *

Masaki Aiba (born December 24, 1982) is a Japanese singer, actor, television personality, radio host and dancer. He is a member of the boy band Arashi. Aiba began his career in the entertainment industry when he joined the Japanese talent agency Johnny & ...

, of

Arashi is a Japanese boy band consisting of five members formed under the Johnny & Associates talent agency. The members are Satoshi Ohno, Sho Sakurai, Masaki Aiba, Kazunari Ninomiya, and Jun Matsumoto. Arashi officially formed on September 15, ...

(born in Chiba in 1982) *

Pata Pata or PATA may refer to: Places * Pata, Sulu, a Philippine municipality * Pata, Galanta District, a village in Slovakia * Pata, Central African Republic, a village * Pata village (Samoa), a village in Samoa * Pontrilas Army Training Area, a ...

, of

X Japan was a Japanese rock band from Chiba, formed in 1982 by drummer and pianist Yoshiki and lead vocalist Toshi. Starting as a predominantly power/speed metal band with heavy symphonic elements, they later gravitated towards a progressive soun ...

and Ra:IN *

Yukihiro Yukihiro is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Yukihiro can be written using different combinations of kanji characters. Here are some examples: *幸弘, "happiness, vast" *幸宏, "happiness, wide" *幸浩, "happiness, wide" *� ...

L'Arc-en-Ciel L'Arc-en-Ciel ( French: 'The Rainbow', stylized as L'Arc~en~Ciel), also known as Laruku, is a Japanese rock band, formed in Osaka in 1991 by bassist tetsuya and vocalist hyde. Following the departure of original members hiro and pero, guitaris ...

, from Chiba and a graduate of The Chiba University of Commerce *

Tomohisa Yamashita , also widely known as , or Tomo, is a Japanese singer, actor, and TV host. Yamashita joined the Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates as a trainee in 1996 (age 11) and made his small acting debut for NHK's ''Shonentachi'' (1998) and has be ...

, of

NEWS News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the tes ...

(Originally from

Funabashi, Chiba is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 644,668 in 309,238 households and a population density of . The total area of the city is . It is the Greater Tokyo Area's 7th most populated city (after pa ...

) *

Naohito Fujiki is a Japanese actor and singer. Filmography Drama * (1996), Guest at Table 3 * ハートにS (1996) * (1996) * * ''Shin-D Love Blood'' (1997) * (1997) * * * (1998) * (1998) * (1999) * (1999) * (1999) * (2000) * * ''LOVE REVOLUTION ...

, Japan Academy Prize-winning actor (Originally from Kurashiki, Okayama) *

Natsuki Mizu Natsuki Mizu (水夏希 ''Mizu Natsuki'', born 1972) is the former top star (otokoyaku) for Snow Troupe of Takarazuka Revue from December 24, 2006 to September 12, 2010. She joined the company in 1993 and became the top star in December 2006 upon t ...

, top star of Snow Troupe in the

Takarazuka Revue The is a Japanese all-female musical theatre troupe based in Takarazuka, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Women play all roles in lavish, Broadway-style productions of Western-style musicals and stories adapted from films, novels, manga, and Japa ...

(born in Chiba in 1972) *

Daiki Arioka is a Japanese singer, actor, tarento, and model as well as member of Hey! Say! JUMP. He is under the management of Johnny & Associates. Career On June 2, 2003, he joined Johnny & Associates as a trainee. As a Johnny's Jr., he was a member of ...

, of

Hey! Say! JUMP Hey! Say! JUMP (HSJ or JUMP) is an eight-member Japanese boy band under the Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates. The group is split into two sub-groups: Hey! Say! BEST and Hey! Say! 7. In Japan they sold more than 10 million physical co ...

* Shiho Fujita, better known as

Sifow Shiho Fujita ( ja, 藤田志穂, translit=Fujita Shiho; born May 11, 1985), known by her stage name Sifow (stylized as sifow), is a Japanese pop singer, model and businesswoman. She signed to the Avex Trax music label in 2006, but in 2008 she ...

Mirei Kiritani is a Japanese actress, model, and news anchor. She appeared in the film ''Heroine Shikkaku'', ''Kimi ni Todoke'', ''Usagi Drop'', and ''Arakawa Under the Bridge''. She also appeared in the drama '' Andō Lloyd: A.I. knows Love?'', ''Gunshi Kanb ...

, actress, model, news anchor *

Kentaro Miura was a Japanese manga artist. He was best known for his acclaimed dark fantasy series '' Berserk'', which began serialization in 1989 and continued until his death. As of 2021, ''Berserk'' had more than 50 million copies in circulation, making i ...

, creator of '' Berserk'' (born in Chiba in 1966) * Tsukasa Fushimi, creator of ''

Oreimo short for is a Japanese light novel series written by Tsukasa Fushimi, with illustrations provided by Hiro Kanzaki. The story depicts high school student Kyosuke Kosaka who discovers that his standoffish younger sister Kirino is actu ...

'' (born in Chiba in 1981) * Susumu Tadakuma, prominent electrical engineer and professor (retired) at Chiba Institute of TechnologyIEEE Richard H. Kaufmann Award Recipients: Sususmu Tadakuma
/ref> *

Tao Okamoto , known professionally as Tao, is a Japanese actress and model, who is alongside Ai Tominaga and Hiroko Matsumoto, one of the biggest models from Japan. In 2009, she was one of the faces of Ralph Lauren. She made her film debut as the female le ...

, model (Originally from

Ichikawa, Chiba 240px, Ichikawa City Hall is a city in western Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 491,716 in 251,142 households and a population density of 8559 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . The city has a conc ...

) *

Rena Kato is a Japanese tarento, model, and actress. She is a former member of the Japanese female idol group AKB48, and was in Team A. She was also a member, along with her good friends Anna Iriyama and Rina Kawaei, of a one-shot AKB48 subunit named A ...

, formerly of

AKB48 AKB48 (pronounced ''A.K.B. Forty-Eight'') is a Japanese idol girl group named after the Akihabara (''Akiba'' for short) area in Tokyo, where the group's theater is located. AKB48's producer, Yasushi Akimoto, wanted to form a girl group with ...

Reina Fujie , is a Japanese idol who is a former member NMB48's Team BII and former member of AKB48. She is a cousin of Berryz Kobo was a Japanese girl group formed by Up-Front Promotion in 2004 and associated with Hello! Project. The group's members cons ...

, formerly of

NMB48 NMB48 (read "N.M.B. Forty-eight") is a Japanese idol group that debuted in 2011 as the second sister group to AKB48, produced by Yasushi Akimoto. NMB48 is named after the Namba district in Osaka city of Osaka Prefecture, where the group is based ...

Cho Chikun Cho Chikun ''25th Honinbo'' ''Honorary Meijin'' ( ko, 조치훈; born June 20, 1956) is a professional Go player and a nephew of Cho Namchul. Born in Busan, South Korea, he is affiliated to Nihon Ki-in. His total title tally of 75 titles is th ...

, Go-player and Honorable citizen of Chiba City (1996). *

Shiina Natsukawa is a Japanese voice actress, singer and YouTuber from Chiba Prefecture. She is a member of the singing unit TrySail, along with Sora Amamiya and Momo Asakura. She is affiliated with Music Ray'n. Her notable roles include Akeno Misaki in ''High Sc ...

, pop idol and member of girl group

TrySail A trysail (also known as a spencer) is a small triangular or square fore-and-aft rigged sail hoisted in place of a larger mainsail when winds are very high. The trysail provides enough thrust to maintain control of the ship, e.g. to avoid ship ...

Mitsuhiro Hidaka is a Japanese rapper, singer, actor, dancer, and a member of the J-pop group AAA. He is the rapper of the group and also writes rap lyrics for the band. He is also a member of the hip hop trio Mother Ninjas. He also debuted as a solo artist in ...

, rapper and member of co-ed group

AAA AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Airports * Anaa Airport in French Polynesia (IATA airport code AAA) * Logan County Airport (Illinois) (FAA airport code AAA) Arts, entertainment, and me ...

Kenta Yamashita is a Japanese racing driver, known for his successes in single-seater junior categories, including winning the 2013 Formula Challenge Japan and the 2012 Motegi Championship Formula Super FJ. He currently races in the Super Formula Championship, ...

, racing driver *

Seiji Ara Seiji Ara (荒聖治; Ara Seiji) (born May 5, 1974 in Chiba, Japan) is a Japanese race car driver. He was the winner of the 24-hour Le Mans race in 2004, driving an Audi R8. In the same year he also raced in the Le Mans Endurance Series and ...

, racing driver *

Daiki Hashimoto is a Japan men's national gymnastics team, Japanese artistic gymnast. Widely regarded as the successor of Kohei Uchimura, he won two gold medals at the Gymnastics at the 2020 Summer Olympics, 2020 Summer Olympics, in Gymnastics at the 2020 Summe ...

, men's artistic gymnast, all-around champion at the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

(born in Narita, but resides in Chiba) * Wataru Watari, creator of '' My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected'' (born and currently resides in Chiba)

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Cities in Chiba Prefecture Port settlements in Japan Populated coastal places in Japan Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan

Etymology

History

Early history

Medieval period

Later history

Modern history

Demographics

Politics and government

Wards

Climate

Culture

Facilities

Park

Sports

Transportation

Airports

Railway

Highway

Education

Colleges and universities

High schools

Hospitals and clinics

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Friendship cities

Notable people

See also

References

External links